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Fun Fun Fun fest scene report/history lesson: The persistence of Richmond, Virginia
As Municipal Waste singer Tony Foresta pointed out yesterday while folks started a circle pit in front of his band, the underground rock of Richmond, Virginia, made a strong showing at Fun Fun Fun Saturday. His band, Gwar and Strike Anywhere all hail from Virginia’s capital.
Plenty of Austin band feature Richmond expats, including the Sword, Ratking, Magic Jewels, and Shanghai River. Dead Oceans records head cheese Phil Waldorf spent time there, as did Iron and Wine singer/songwriter Sam Beam.
When this was mentioned to a young Fun Fun Fun volunteer, his reaction wasn’t unexpected: “I don’t think of Richmond as having a big music scene.”
Nobody ever does, but in the late 80s and 1990s, I would put Richmond’s punk and underground rock scene up against any in the country. Indie rock and punk fans, do yourself a favor and Google any of the following: Breadwinner, Hose Got Cable, Kepone, Hell Mach Four, Damn Near Red, Honor Roll, Ladyfinger, Loincloth, Sliang Laos, Lamb of God, Born Against and the list goes on. (Also, band for band, I submit that Richmond generated more good band names per capita than anywhere else in the world.)
I confess I’m not as familiar with the city’s output now, but Richmond is one of those places I always expect to regenerate itself — there will always be something there that catches my ear.
Why?
Richmond features a number of colleges, including a well-regarded art school at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Rents have stayed cheap and it is within a nine hour drive to most cities on the East Coast or the South. Good art (well, good music) cannot exist long-term in cities with chronically high rents and in an emergency, you can get in the van and play a show anywhere from New York to Atlanta with a day’s notice.
People often claim to hate living there, including current residents. Expats often say they are thrilled to be gone, and one believes them, but there is no way their aesthetic could have been formed anywhere else.
Long may it rock.
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